Blogroll

Follow me on Twitter

Hope is knocking

Standard

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. -Romans 5:5

Misty morning fog blankets the lake at the house I’ve retreated to write. This clandestine nebula somehow eluded last night’s projected forecast. Sunny and 71 were the expectations for this day but this murky haze obscures the truth about what I know lies on the other side. Warm rays of hope giving sunlight have been replaced with the damp melancholy of these beauty blocking clouds. Hopelessness is knocking. But I will not answer.

Isn’t that what life is like sometimes? Things don’t turn out the way we expect, the way things were promised. There are days of zero visibility, and maybe those days are more like years stretched out so long we’ve forgotten the landscape. We’ve forgotten what was on the other side of uncertainty. A marriage that was conceived under warmth of certain sun now is clouded by the haze of broken. Heavy reflections surround the notion that you’ve not tied yourself to the one your soul loves, and questions of his existence haunt your thoughts. The childless womb of a mother so desperately seeking to have it filled. Pensive memories of the ones who were and now are not give rise to the guilty thoughts of living again. Hopelessness is knocking. Have you answered the door?

The ease at which melancholy sets in is disheartening. It takes so little effort to be swept down the stream of negativity. It’s much more difficult to stir yourself up in the Lord when your broken heart is more tangible than your hope in God. If God is good, then why did He let these things happen? That’s the real question isn’t it? Is God good or isn’t He? For some maybe, but not for all is the wrong realization that opens the door to hopelessness. And if I were to stop with my limited understanding about my hard circumstances, I too would return to the dismal place that held so many of my years. But I don’t. Each morning, I return to the place of rest in knowing that He is good. The place where His presence dwells. The place where He restores my hope and gives understanding through new perspectives. Ah, my eyes see through His eyes the beauty of what lies on the other side of that cloud. And that beauty is even more radiant than my eyes alone could have ever seen. He gives me hope again. But it is my choice to swim upstream and keep it or be moved by the current of my inaccurate perspectives. I choose Life because it has chosen me.

Hope does not disappoint. Do you disagree? I used to. I had hoped for so many things that didn’t happen. In fact, God changed my name to Hope over 15 years ago. Funny huh? I stayed in a constant state of disappointment over all the things that didn’t turn out like I thought. Even now, it tries to creep in but I won’t let it. You see, I don’t hopein things, I hope in Christ. He doesn’t disappoint because His love has been poured out in my heart through the amazing gift of the Holy Spirit who is always speaking to me. Coaching me, encouraging me, guiding me, building my faith, picking me up when I fall, reminding me of God’s goodness, of His grace, and of His mercy. Reminding me that I can do all things through, with and by Him. Do people have the power to make decisions that negatively affect me? Yes, but even then He’s faithful to make things work out for me in His perfect way.

So I challenge you to kick out the unwelcomed guest of hopelessness and never open the door to him again. Let the Holy Spirit reside in your heart and return hope to you in every area that the enemy has stolen. Hope is knocking, will you let Him in?

Spend the next 20 to 30 minutes gazing into the eyes of a loving God. Focus your complete attention on Him. Listen wholeheartedly as He speaks words of hope to you. Allow those words to settle upon you and repair the damage that Satan’s lies have done. God has come for the brokenhearted and He comes to bring life. Are you ready to be made whole again? Write down everything the Holy Spirit speaks to you and remind yourself of them all week long.

Over the next week, study the following passages to learn more on hope in God. Continue to have your daily Koffee with the King and enjoy those deep conversations. Continue to ask Him questions to get to know Him better.

Breahn, thank you so much for your sweet comments. It’s more of a blessing than you know to know that all of the hard work I’ve put into this is helping you. It’s the very reason I do it. So thanks sweetie for letting me know what God is doing for you! 🙂